Rockford native who survived Pearl Harbor interred in USS Arizona

More than seven months after his death, the cremated remains of former Rockford resident Vernon J. Olsen were interred at sunset Wednesday in a gun turret on the USS Arizona, part of the 70th anniversary ceremonies marking the attack on Pearl Harbor.

More than seven months after his death, the cremated remains of former Rockford resident Vernon J. Olsen were interred at sunset Wednesday in a gun turret on the USS Arizona, part of the 70th anniversary ceremonies marking the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Olsen, 91, of Port Charlotte, Fla., died April 22 in Port Charlotte after a bout with pneumonia.

The ceremony was one of five memorials held this week for servicemen who lived through the Dec. 7, 1941, assault and who wanted their remains placed in Pearl Harbor out of pride and affinity for those they left behind.

“They want to return and be with the shipmates that they lost during the attack,” said Jim Taylor, a retired sailor who coordinates the ceremonies.

The memorials are happening the same week the country observes the 70th anniversary of the aerial bombing that killed 2,390 Americans and brought the United States into World War II. A larger ceremony to remember all those who perished was held Wednesday just before 8 a.m. Hawaii time — the same moment the devastating attack began.

Most of the 12 ships that sank or were beached that day were removed from the harbor, their metal hulls repaired and returned to service or salvaged for scrap. Just the Utah and the USS Arizona still lie in the dark blue waters. Only survivors of those vessels may return in death to their ships.

Olsen was among 334 on the Arizona to survive the attack. Most of the battleship’s 1,177 sailors and Marines who died on Dec. 7 are still entombed on the ship.

Five months after Pearl Harbor, Olsen was on the USS Lexington aircraft carrier when it sank during the Battle of the Coral Sea.

“I used to tell him he had nine lives. He was really lucky,” said his widow, Jo Ann Olsen.

Pearl Harbor interment and ash scattering ceremonies began in the late 1980s and started growing in number as more survivors heard about them.

Taylor has helped 265 survivors return to Pearl Harbor. The vast majority have had their ashes scattered. He’s arranged for the remains of about 20 Arizona survivors to be placed in the Arizona and about a dozen to be put in the Utah.

“These guys are heroes, OK. Fact is, in my opinion, anybody that’s ever served in the military and wore the uniform are heroes. That’s why you and I can breathe today in a free country. So I just appreciate what they did,” he said.

Olsen was born March 1, 1920, the youngest of 14 children born to Oscar and Frances Olsen of Rockford and enlisted in the U.S. Navy on Oct. 8, 1940.

After completing basic training at the Great Lakes Naval Station, Olsen was assigned to the USS Arizona as a seaman. On Dec. 7, 1941, he was assigned to mess duty for 5th Division when general quarters was sounded. His battle station was located in the gun tubs on the after mast, where he was to man a 50-caliber water-cooled machine gun. He did not have access to the keys to the ready-locker, therefore he did not have any ammunition or water needed to operate the machine gun. A Japanese plane flew between the masts and dropped a bomb. After the bomb exploded, he was ordered to abandon ship. As he was escaping, he suffered severe burns on his arms. Another, much larger explosion occurred, and the ship became an inferno. Olsen found himself floundering in the harbor’s water but was soon rescued and transported safely to Ford Island.

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Olsen was later assigned to the USS Lexington and then to the USS Nassau. After the war, he was assigned to the USS Fulton and participated in the atomic testing at Bikini Atoll in July 1946. On Dec. 9, 1946, Vernon received his honorable discharge from the Navy with the rank of electrician’s mate first class.

While the Nassau was under repair at the Mare Island Navy Yard in California, Olsen took leave to marry Jo Ann Castelles of Rockford on April 8, 1944. Shortly after his discharge from the Navy, Olsen went to work for Commonwealth Edison and retired in 1975 after 28½ years of service.

Survivors include his wife of 67 years, Jo Ann, and many nieces, nephews and extended family members.